The Decline of Shoujo Anime: One Year Later
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- Опубліковано 3 сер 2024
- It has been a whole year since my second video I ever posted 'The Decline of Shoujo Anime' came out. A video that put me on the map as a youtuber and pushed me to make content on the platform. However a lot changes in a year... And I'm coming in hot with new information and shoujosei anime to promote.
Creators Shown:
@inakyu
@TheAnimeTea
SOCIAL MEDIA:
beacons.ai/colleensmangarecs
SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI:
ko-fi.com/colleensmangarecs
SOURCES:
What Is Shoujo?
www.academia.edu/36310321/The...
web.archive.org/web/201511180...
Why Do Men Read So Few Books By Women?
www.theguardian.com/books/202...
lithub.com/why-are-so-many-me...
Star's Tik Tok Video
www.tiktok.com/@star_sama13/v...
Cartoon Network Executive Says 'Girls Grow Out of Animation'
worldscreen.com/tvkids/amy-fr...
www.cartoonbrew.com/studios/a...
Paul Dini Interview with Kevin Smith on 'Fat Man Beyond'
dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com/...
How Toys Became Gendered
theconversation.com/how-toys-...
Invalidating Teen Girls Interests
studybreaks.com/thoughts/inte...
Crunchyroll Says 'Girls Have Been Underserved with Relevant IPs
www.animenewsnetwork.com/inte...
0:00 Intro Sketch
0:56 Opening
4:18 Definition of Shoujo
6:15 Rehashing the Rebuttals
6:43 "Shoujo Are the Same"
7:28 "Shoujo Don't Sell Well"
10:06 "Shoujo Get LA Dramas"
11:29 "Shoujo Can't Sell Merch"
14:04 Why is Shoujo Shafted?
16:51 Where is the Josei Anime?
17:30 Upcoming Shoujosei Anime
18:15 My Love Story with Yamada
18:59 Madhouse is Carrying Shoujosei
19:45 Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts
20:33 Ooku- The Inner Chambers
21:19 Acro Trip
22:13 Do We Have a Shoujosei Renaissance Upon Us?
24:35 Closing - Розваги
I thought I showed it well enough in the video but Skip and Loafer is a seinen manga. It has been nominated in male demographic categories in Japan and comes from the same magazine as Vinland Saga. Just because it has a female protagonist in a high school setting does not make it automatically a shoujo or "feel like a shoujo". High school settings and female protagonists are not exclusive to that demo as I tried to make a big point in the "what is shoujo" section. That is why it is not included in the currently airing shoujosei anime section because it is neither shoujo nor josei. While I love this series and have been reading it for 2 years now, it is very much a seinen title and promoting it as a shoujosei would only a) make people believe more in the stereotype surrounding those manga and b) tell studios that seinen are fine substitutes and they don't actually need to care about shoujo or josei at all. Promoting seinen as shoujo and josei will only make people think that the feminine media can't be for a "general audience" and will get pushed away more and more.
I ask that you consider WHY you think Skip and Loafer is a shoujo and WHY you think it could not be a seinen title. It may be more based in America's perception of media marketed towards women than you may think.
I think it's only counted as "shojo" if the female highschool protagonist is naive & vapid mind is ALWAYS on romance.
Crunchyroll themselves mislabeled Skip & Loafer as shoujo so that probably also leads to confusion.
I was watching Sugar Apple Fairy Tale last season, and for the life of me, I thought it was a shojo/josei. It was in fact, a Seinen.
@@megaszx08 There is a little more to it with Sugar Apple Fairy Tale. The original light novel is considered shoujo and the original adaptation of the manga is also shoujo. The new adaptation with a different artist is published in a seinen magazine so its marked seinen.
i think people may mistake it for a shojo because seinen/shonen romcoms getting animated lately tend to have a lot of disgusting weird fan service and are generally very male centered (even being written by and having a woman as MC like dress up darling), so it's rare to see an anime that isn't shojosei respecting it's female characters. But of course, that doesn't make it shojo.
I (can 😭) cannot believe the “women love shopping” stereotype and “women don’t buy merchandise” belief mutually exists but here we are 💀💀
I'm shook on the "women don't buy merchandise"
RIGHT?! lol
"Woman do not buy merchandise" I literally have my whole room filled with posters, small figures, keychains etc plus I plan to buy Nana's figurine. UGHHH
They believe whatever helps them justify their preexisting biases.
right, like didn't they hear about kpop stans ? women literally ruin themselves when they love something
"Girls don't buy merchandise?" The Disney Princess franchise is the fifth highest grossing media franchise in existence and is worth over $48 billion. I hate people.
don't forget that Frozen was the highest-grossing animated film for a while
It feels more bizarre because the populat media for young girls is usually built around merch isn't it?
Where is the cutoff?
Sad part is that so many companies cater to boys and men that very few companies even bother to cater to women and girls. And the ones that do cater to girls and women are rarely successful or well-known. Disney has a lot of issues, but it is one of the few companies that actually bother to cater to girls and be successful and revered because of it.
Sailor Moon franchise exist.
@@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716 It's just an example of how well "girl oriented" things can sell.
"Girls often graduate out of animation" is just the whole "animation is for kids" argument again, but for women.
Well gee, guess I'm be a child. But as Walt Disney stated, "Adults are only kids grown up."
Yeah I too am tired of those arguments as well. I’m thinking we could just boycott shounen/seinen anime/manga for a month or two.
@@kineticmeow9242
I don't think that will work.
Instead, I think there should be more people discussing more shoujo series that they will like. I have a few video ideas for shoujo anime I want to make.
@@notationmusical So perhaps the best approach is bringing more awareness.
I was thing a combo of more awareness for shoujo and short term boycott of shounen/seinen not permanently. Like maybe one month per year to boycott just to get the companies attention that we the female audience want more shouno/josei. ❤️
Im rather growing into animation, ever since I was a kid I consumed animated media, I still do! Im an animator already and I want to make a career out of this, the talk that girls are growing out of animation is bs
Us “adults are only kids grown up” who got to watch Disney’s GARGOYLES are still waiting on Executives sitting on the last seasons yet to get dvd releases.
Though maybe by that time, they can 1-&-done it with a BluRay collection of everything all at once with a properly crafted marketing strategy?
Oh, & maybe, just maybe - reconsider a live-action adaptation with at least 1 or both of the original creators?
I’d be happy with a movie, though I’d be over Avalon if it got a whole series!
✨🌕✨
C’mon, if Disney’s willing to make a Musical Adaptation of Hunchback with peak villain Frollo, then give us more GARGOYLES (no, not the figments of Quasimodo’s imagination).
Disney’s current writing already embraces contemporary dark tones…
So why not reach back at something that not only had those tones - it would only need minor dusting, & polishing to contemporize it for post-9/11 NYC, & current audiences.
There’s already a whole Fantasia’s worth of wonder, AND loads of representation by the last time we see Avalon.
PLUS, ~if given a proper marketing campaign~ could potentially stand on par with the Marvel Cinematic Universe ON ITS OWN!
Disney execs know how much money they’re making with similar titles now, imagine if they didn’t sell the fandom short or infantilize them, & treated the popularity of the series while its airing as proof of potential worth?
Especially when it surpassed Darkwing by being on par with Batman, & Spider-Man’s consistent views during the Disney Afternoon lineup!
While Disney Execs argue over the aforementioned, don’t mind the majority of the GARGOYLES fandom having already spent almost 3 whole decades (if not longer) watching Anime series that didn’t shy from dark tones or adult themes. We were starved after the staff shifts, & the Chronicles tanked.
As a related aside, ~many~ girls, now adults have been part of the GARGOYLES fandom since it aired. And there’s plenty of female protagonists to keep us in it even now.
The lament is being victims of oligarchs, & patriarchal capitalism time & again, going to wherever form & source of narrative media we could get fed, & our crops watered. Before. During. After it aired. AND while navigating thru the male gaze.
If you’re going to objectify/sexualize 1 side of the (science proven) gender spectrum in any form of media, be prepared to give the same treatment to all. If not, don’t. Full stop.😒
Anyway… Last question to Executives: If binary gender &/or other biases stand in the way of profit, would you rather not have more money in the long haul - especially with another oncoming recession, OR be willing to step out of the way & let a good marketing staff get you your share of said money?
Goddamn that Cartoon Network executive's comments on " Girls aging out of animation" Still pisses me off!
Execs like them that treat animation overall like a genre at an overrated awards show like the oscars that can only tell Certain stories to certain demographics!
They need to be kicked out and replaced!
And so many good shows that made tons of money too get canceled because some high executives hate cartoons and see them as just ‘kid’s shows’. Owl house, inside job, infinity train, pantheon, etc. Teen Titans back when I was a kid and a lot of other good shows got canceled because companies were obsessed with making toys.
When it comes to Japanese anime I just see Japanese companies offer a wider variety of merchandise for shoujo/josei compared to here in the US such as looking at Crunchyroll’s site there just really isn’t anything too appealing.
@@kineticmeow9242 I still don't understand how executives' prejudices can win out over their love of money... Like, as you said, these shows made bank and were incredibly successful, but they still get cancelled. Research and create merchandise that fits the desires of the fanbase, and you make even more money, rather than throwing away a cash cow in the making because it's "from a bad medium" or "not attracting the right viewership demographic".
People talk about representation mattering --- and the quoted Cartoon Network exec is a woman, who spewed more misogynistic propaganda. I don't even know if that is her real opinion, but if it is, it certainly is very sour and elitist. If it was a true nerd who didn't care about gender, they would not have said that.
@ lewa3910 💯 I feel like CN doesn't even recognize the fact that One of their most influential cartoons was created by a woman (i.e. Rebecca Sugar, Steven Universe) smh
The “ no girls allowed” in fandom is so stupid. Any of us old head anime fans, know for a fact that then and now. Girl and women have run and kept Cons and fandoms alive. With artist alleys, dealers rooms, organizing, and literal hype up of shows (through like cosplay and stuff) being a huge backbone of anime convention. Which back then was the only easy way to get some cool stuff back then, which lead to our more mainstream anime scene now.
Now you mention that, it's weird some people in a fandom have no girl policy toward anime, but enjoying wan who do cosplaying 🧐
"Women don't buy merchandise" ok we just going to ignore that Sanrio, Animal Crossing, Pokemon, and otome properties sell gangbusters to women? Marketing execs just don't wanna sell stuff that they personally wouldn't buy lmao. God forbid they need to hire a woman marketing consultant!
@@uanime1 what are you trying to accomplish here? I don't get what your point is
And i loveeeeeee decor, why this dudes NEVER thing about cute stuff for the house, they just want to sell figurines, i Bet is the thing that gave them the most margin of money
Colleen, I’m so glad you decided to make your channel and start a discussion around Shojo that has reverberated around the online anime space. I learn so much from every video you create. Thanks for being a source Shojo readers and watchers can look to!
Your shit's pretty good too. I think the growing community of female creators will help sales of female demographic media. I know I've bought stuff I wouldn't know about if it wasn't for creators like Colleen and yourself.
Ahhhhh it's Tea!!!! I love your channel too!! I love how she made a shout out to you in the video!!! Q w Q You guys have made UA-cam more engaging for me since discovering you 3. Thank you for making videos on shoujo. My Middle school heart thanks you all. 🥲💓
Why can't we have tie ins for cute home decor ? Glassware/cute mugs ? Purses? Or jewelry ? Hand cream ! Makeup ! Do they not know how much money is made off cosmetics ? Even a partnership with an existing brand? I'd throw money at things like that.
I swear Japanese companies have a wider variety of merch options compared to the US.
Like drama CDs are pretty cool. They could do drawing sketch books, notebooks, art books, and pens too.
I mean look at Animal Crossing New Horizons make-up, that thing sold out very quickly and it was a collaboration with an existing brand, it would be so easy, like very easy, yet they're not willing 🤦
@@kineticmeow9242 and the CDs come with things ! So it's totally worth it !
@@BlueWizardTraveller 😂 honestly, and that's the perfect example too !
I think makeup is the best bet, the makeup boom has sort of died down but even then, brands like Colourpop will come out with collabs from 20 year old IPs that still sell out in an hour. I remember trying to get the Sailor Moon collection on launch day and it was gone by noon. Honestly, half the time they already have the products ready, they just need to slap the characters on the packaging and choose some color palettes that match the vibe.
in france there was a huge movement last year, "libérez les shojos" which means "free shojos", thanks to that publishers reprinted some series like princess jellyfish. and we even got some merch for sakura saku (which made its debut this year in france) !! i hope things will evolve even if some companies still say that it's not profitable to market shojos
Good to see France still remains one step ahead when it comes to importing Japanese media.
Damn everything in french is beautiful, french is the shoujo language
"Girls don't buy merch!"
PreCure: * exists for over 20 years *
Isn't PreCure touching the seinen demo lately?
@@yannickjohn6930 I havent watched the most recent season, but I'd say as long as they're making happy meal toys for it it doesnt count as seinen.
Other magical girl shows could absolutely be considered seinen (Magical Girl Site for example) but idk about precure.
@@yannickjohn6930i doubt it? Precure has always been a very girly-girl made for girls show. There have been a couple series with heavier themes, but nothing to make it seinen. Seinen means adult male, and I highly doubt anyone is trying to gear Precure towards that demographic.
@@yannickjohn6930 precure is definitely a shoujo
In a time when I had no one to talk about shojo with and felt like sharing my interest in it would make me weak and unworthy, your original Decline of Shojo video was like a wake-up call. It was nice to see someone finally put some respect on shojo’s name and find someone who wasn’t just talking about shonen or seinen. You also motivated me to be open about loving shojo when discussing anime with others. Thank you for the video and happy one-year anniversary!
Yeah her video last year was a wake up call for me to. It’s what had got me back into shoujo manga after taking a break from reading manga for over a decade.
"Girls don't buy merch" is so funny, considering some shrines I've seen girls have to their favorite series, with everything they could get their hands on shipped from Japan bcs there are no other options. Boys might get a figurine of thir favorite charachter or waifu, but girls will collect EVERYTHING there is about the series, including stuff in Japanese they don't understand (ಠ_ಠ)
case and point, me buying up everything Chihayafuru I possibly can since nothing is available here in America for it lol
Exactly, men sell figurines cuz thats what men Buy, the waifu they like and maybe the Gundam they like ((btw i have an alphone and a Gundam)) but i prefer other stuff, You know how happy inwas when i Buy My firts deck of Sakura cards ???? Jesus that make me SO happy. I want mugs, i want jewerly and i want bags not cringe totebags with a cartoon plaster in them... No, a beautiful day to day bag, You know how popular was that sailoor moon bags a few years ago... That sell !!!!! Or the cosmetics with sailoor moon style uffffff ❤❤❤❤❤ thats where the money is at
Literally, like??? My favorite anime is so obscure in the west, but in Japan it’s got more prevalent merch that I would LOVE to buy them if it were more easily accessible! 😩❤️
I'm so glad you're talking about this, I am so tired at how little shojo we get, it's just not fair, shonen can get huge budgets especially in their action series but shojo don't get nearly half that attention. Yona of the dawn would be a great example of this, I think if they did a true and faithfully well done adaption, it think it would be super successful, the problem is that so many studios don't want to even put the money into it, bc where it ends in the anime, is where we really get more into the story telling and the action in the manga, but studios wouldn't want to put their money in a very sucessfull series. I want to enjoy so many manga's but I am just constantly bombarded with mid-tier shonen adaptions that will have little to no impact, while some of the most successful shojos in japan either never get translated, they get translated years after completion, or they adapt the most recycled story that is very similar to others bc they know it's familiarity will sell.
I'm so glad you're talking about it bc i feel like so many people don't understand the same frustration I feel when I see another shounen or seinen romance manga get an anime adaptation while shojo romance get's left in the dust.
Yeah it’s like Colleen said for companies it’s a safe bet focusing and marketing shounen/seinen as men and women read it while shoujo/josei it’s mostly women and not enough men reading and watching it so they don’t see a reason to change anytime soon. The only way we get their attention is money. If we all boycott watching shounen/seinen anime/manga for an entire month companies will begin to change their tune.
FR! you see skip beat and kimi ni todoke on the top manga charts along with naruto, bleach etc. but skip only had a 13 episode anime 😒
@@miskis6322 what happened to shojo anime getting 50+ episodes????? 😔
if u liked Yona of the dawn i definitely recoomed Fushigi Yuugi these two are my favorite shoujo but Fushigi Yuugi is not very known for some reason and im uppset about it casue it`s sooooo good!
@@TM-si1kj i'll check it out! the manga or the anime?
Studio Ghibli regularly cashed in on a ton of merch sales- and I primarily see a female demographic leading those purchases. They literally collaborated with a designer brand not too long ago too. It’s really not that hard to make female-oriented merch.
I concur even If I am a man I have not seen another guy who is a die hard fan
I’ll always be thankful for everything you’ve done over the last year and will continue to support you for as long as I can. Your content will always be an inspiration, and I’m grateful for the kindness and support you’ve shown me in giving me my own voice when I felt too scared to do so.
You had no obligation to be as caring or compassionate as you’ve been, but it just goes to show you’re not only a great creator, but a great person and (online) friend as well. I know dealing with toxic people online can be draining at times, but your perseverance in the pursuit of spotlighting feminine media will always be admirable because of just how important it is and how much it’s shifted the conversation, even slightly. You’re probably sick of my gushing at this point, but thank you for everything you’ve done for shoujo and josei and I look forward to seeing how the channel will continue to grow.
Mac you're always literally the sweetest person and your content has been so great as well that of course I would support you!! You don't make it hard 😂 I'm so happy to have you here in this community with me 🙏🙏
I think a lot of this is rooted in misogyny and how fans are shamed for liking feminine media. We haven’t been vocal about what we want to see because we were told that it’s cringe and we shouldn’t like it. We’re told to widen our interests and we settle for k-dramas, manhwa, and shounens instead.
I’m happy you’ve helped to make a community where it’s safe to express feminine interests and know we’re not alone in the desire to see a comeback of Shoujo.
I'd disagree
@@charleston.n6433 please explain
@@Z-FishInMyBreakfast don't remember, it's been a while
If feminine media is shunned, why does other brands that target women exist like hello kitty. Calling the smallest things misogyny just makes the term hold less weight if you keep brandishing it for any slight inconvenience. Smh
@@charleston.n6433 I mean I got fun of when I was younger for wearing clothes with Hello Kitty on them, so not a very valid point. I can see where you're coming from with labeling everything as misogyny, but if not that, what would you call this.
I laughed at the part about males not buying Skip Beat or Honey Lemon Soda since I have.
I will admit that I've only been educated about Shojo for about a year. You've actually been helping a lot with that. Having creators like you to tell me about shojo manga so I can pick out what I like really helps.
Also I'm really enjoying Yamada-kun. My sister and I picked a seasonal anime for each other to watch and I'm very happy she picked it for me.
You know I love that madhouse continues to produce shoujo and Josei anime, because in a lot of Waze is staying true to the roots, and some of their earliest successes such as Cardcaptor, Sakura and Nana were from this demographic. by the way, I am super excited to see you them adapt the rest of clear card in the card captors anime it’s going to be amazing!
Additionally another shoujo anime has been released that you may have missed. It's called "Why Raeliana Ended Up At The Duke's Mansion", but it was adopted from a manhwa. I kind of enjoyed the source material, so I've been following the anime and it seems quite promissing.
Another one that's a josei is Raven at the Inner Palace (Kokyuu no Karasu) which is a mystery historical fiction drama
Also it's a pity that j.c. stuff did another shoujo anime last season and no one talks about it, i am talking about sugar apple fairy tail imo it's amazing.And raven of the inner palace is amazing too
OMG I'm glad someone mentioned this one. Back when Crunchyroll announced they were doing a partnership with Webtoon to adapt some webcomics, I was wishing they would consider some aimed at women but I also knew not to get my hopes up. Seeing a webcomic like Why Raeliana Ended up at the Duke's Mansion is giving me hope to see more adaptations like this!
The story is spot on so far I’m really excited for everything coming up. Unfortunately though the animation is soooo stiff. That’s my biggest problem with these titles. I want to watch them but the quality just isn’t there.
@@vroomvroom911
Yeah, the composition isn't all that great either. Characters teleport from one scene to the other and there's a lack of inbetweens.
Wow, is that video a year old already? It has been great seeing you shine a spotlight on Shojo, and I think it's genuinely improved the media literacy of the community at large...albeit against some people's wills. But it's necessary for some of these people!
One point in the whole "Why don't they license shojo" that I find kind of interesting...is that tiny shonen and seinen manga also get adaptations and licenses, despite (I imagine) few girls reading them. Like, how many girls actually picked up stuff like My One-Hit Kill Sister? So if a show can have say, 90% boy audience and 10% girls...why can the reverse not be true? The given reasoning would only apply to the big mainstream shonen, like Hero Aca.
What I find kind of interesting is that with some parts of nerd culture...it was seen as a feminine thing at first. Star Trek was saved by a woman organizing a letter writing campaign to keep the show going, and now it's seen as the archetypical nerd show for boys. Isekai was a predominantly women-oriented genre until stuff like SAO came onto the scene, whereas before we had stuff like Rayearth and Escaflowne. But as you said...men won't buy feminine media, but women will buy masculine media...so companies think they can just disregard it.
Great video as always :D!
Yes, I often find myself wondering why I have to justify the amount of sales for shoujo or josei manga when I say they deserve anime. Plenty of shonen and seinen get them despite not selling as well. I shouldn't have to point out sales at all when it comes to shoujosei, but alas of course I do because otherwise they'll just use the same argument 😭
We should organize some kind of boycott for a month or two on shounen/seinen.
@@ColleensMangaRecs hey when did you ulpload this video i am confused
@@user-zx2fn4lm4d this video went up early for people who support me on patreon!
@@ColleensMangaRecs ohh thanks i get it
Me looking at Disney Princess merch after this video: „Huh interesting“
Jokes aside, I am happy and thankful that you’ve decided to put yourself out there ❤ Thank you and congratulations! To many more great years on UA-cam
My otome games and manhwa merches enter the chat:
Even in a video about shoujo, you can (not) escape the Evangelion references.
That video being a year old and you still being proud of it while acknowledging its flaws really goes to show how far you've come in such a short time. Looking forward to another year of great shoujo content!
What eva reference?
@@user-zx2fn4lm4d the "congratulations" clapping part
おめでた! 👏👏👏
@@user-zx2fn4lm4domedetto 😂😂😂😂 hahahaha
Colleen should do a yearly video about the state of shojosei adaptations just to remind us of how biased we still are towards women-targeted media all around the world and in every relatively big fandom and creative industry.
Btw Im so excited for My Happy Marriage. I loved the manga and the adaptation looks amazing so far quality-wise.
Colleen, really glad to see you keeping this discussion alive through your videos. This has been an issue for so long, but not many people touch into the subject.
Something fun that you probably don't know, though. Here in Brazil, around 2013, some shoujo fans (that I knew because we were all mutuals on twitter lol) created a campaign called "Mais Shoujos no Brasil" (literally meaning More Shoujos In Brazil) that actually got some results. There were polls for the companies to tell them which shoujo manga we most wanted to see published here, etc. It's been a while (10 years??? Holy shit) so I don't remember it that well, but I believe it happened after one of these companies executives said at an interview that "all shoujo were the same" (ugh). We got some results right after with companies mentioning the campaign and manga like Aoharaido and No.6 being published. So yeah, moving ourselves for a cause can do a lot!! So thank you for your videos again ❤
I love the colleen into the colleen-verse videos, and talking really well about the industry and misogyny
SO SO SO INCREDIBLY PROUD OF YOU! You’ve made such a mark on anitube and i’m so sure in giving a push in showing that there is a HUGE audience for shojosei
Cant wait to see what other BANGERS you’ll make 😤😤👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼
so happy to have become friends with you🙏🙏🙏
I really appreciate this video! Even if things aren’t changing yet, shining a light on underecognized shoujojosei manga and anime is super appreciated so many people like myself can discover them. Its just a shame that while women are heavily pushed into enjoying media that doesn’t cater to them, men don’t have to and its not expected of them.
Thank you for being here. I truly am morning the fact that shoujo doesn't get anime :/ and no one would ever listen to me when I said a series was good. (Some people are so closed minded smh) It does feel like we are getting a few more shows though so I am happy about that I just hope it increases every year :D
We have to boycott shounen/seinen anime/manga to get their attention. I think every year on Women’s History Month we should boycott watching and reading shounen/seinen for the whole month.
@@kineticmeow9242 I honestly don't think that will help. Besides shonen can survive without the shoujo fans. They have a much wider demographic to pull from after all.
@@PinkySoda I feel part of the issue is girls/women not even knowing what shoujo/josei even is. They might even give up eventually watching anime and leave the anime community thinking anime sexualizes women, but that is a common troupe in shounen.
Losing watchers and readers of anime/manga means companies lose money. They need to see that marketing shoujo with the same kind of energy they do for shounen if worth doing they just need to offer a wider option of merchandise. The options of cool merchandise I’ve always seen on Japanese websites such as drama CDs.
@@PinkySoda I agree with Kinetic Meow. When you look at anime, you will start to notice that a lot of women watch sienen even if it isn't target at them. However, a lot of men aren't open to watching shoujo or simply don't find it entertaining. This means that companies will pick the safer option because they know they can retain their female customers through media not made for them. As such boycotting or simply refusing to watch or engage with seinen content, causes companies to pay attention. They lose money.
This is how boycotting has always worked. I can go on and on about how I want more clean energy through solar panels. However, it won't mean much if I don't actively engage with solar panel companies, and actually buy the solar panels. Money talks.
@@kineticmeow9242maybe help the author of the shoujo manga to get publicity.
I wanted to thank this channel for making such outstanding videos, your content has made me feel less alone in liking shoujo and josei anime/manga. In the past I used to be made fun of for reading and enjoying shoujo, because of these videos I feel more confident in my interests. Colleens passion for the genre has really inspired me I hope that they know that their videos really have made a positive impact.
"Women don't buy merch" have you seen the litteral shrines females fans build of their favorite attractive shonen characters? I think the sales of a shirt less Jae Ha figure could be enough to fund a new season of Yona.
Anyway thank you for the one year of video, it definitely helped rekindle my love for shojo!
Love the evangelion reference
My circle of friends enjoys shoujo. Though sometimes they don't know that's a shoujo anime.....
I wonder if the live actions being produced for Shoujo nowadays might have to do with the actors involved. My Love Mix Up, Honey Lemon Soda, and My Happy Marriage all had actors from the Johnny’s group Snow Man (which is huge in Japan) as main roles, so it’s probably less of a risk to make something like that since they’ll know that die hard fans of the group will watch it as opposed to an anime where you can’t take advantage of that as much . Mystery to Iunakare also had Masaki Suda, who isn’t a Johnny’s member but still is a very popular actor. In the past there was also instances like Boys Over Flowers having an actor from ARASHI (another Johnny’s group) as a main role and Kimi ni Todoke also having Haruma Miura (kinda a similar situation to Masaki Suda)
OhMyGodzilla, here remembering ARASHI back then, & SMAP. 🥹
also cool doji danshi having idols Yuta (NCT), a member from JO1 and dori sakurada
Ironically Johnny's is under a sexual assault investigation. Being a Johnny's kid feels like a double-edged sword now..
ngl, it sounds like executives have never met a woman in their life. I know so many women who love collecting merch (figures, toys, ect.), and will buy what ever because that's their favorite character (tbf most people I am around are neurodivergent so this may be a factor). It's very frustrating that execs refuse to branch out. I feel like some of the alternative merch you suggested would even be cheaper to make than some of the stuff they already make, so it wouldn't be too much of a risk (especially stickers and stationary) The misogyny is so rampant, that the corporate greed isn't shining through. I really appreciate your videos on shoujo and the anime space in general! It's got me thinking a lot more about what I'm consuming, and why things are the way they are. It's also just kind of fun to think about the demographics for anime and manga, and how they may differ from the fandom spaces!
I’m pretty sure executives have met women before, but are too ego-centric &/or biased to acknowledge the other human they’re meeting for who they are as a person.
I’ve asked in my earlier comments, what does the exec want more of? Money. How can they earn it if they’re in their own way? Step aside, & let a marketing team candidly study the audience, craft a good PR & merch campaign, then they can earn even more money in the long run without tripping over themselves - especially in public.
Thank you so, so much for all the content you've put out. Seeing someone take shojo seriously and treat it with the respect it deserves is very cathartic and makes me feel pride for loving shojo series so much. Go Colleen!
as japanese I recommend FUSHIGI YUUGI which has similar vibe as Yona of the dawn, and also MYSTERY TO IUNAKARE (means DONT CALL IT MYSTERY in japanese) which is HUGE popular manga in japan right now but unknown outside. the latter one also has a live action drama that was a hit in japan as well and i liked the live action better
Thank you
Congrats on a whole year of ShouJosei videos! I don't comment on them much because I'm overly self-conscious, but I do watch and learn a lot from each of them!
I feel like because Shoujo series end up coming out later, a lot of people start making assumptions that they're "rip-offs" of Shounen series that got animated first, even though the Manga came out later. I've been seeing it a lot with Sacrificial Princess being compared to Tale of Outcasts and, in 2021, The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window being compared to Jujutsu Kaisen. In both cases the anime were featured in back-to-back seasons and caused many to flat out disregard them because of the assumptions.
Another issue I've noticed is that there's this sort of-- purest idealism going around when it comes to Shoujo and Josei series. If something looks the slightest bit toxic or if people don't think certain topics should be viewed in media (like having Fairies as slaves in Sugar Apple Fairy Tale) then people completely shut it out, even if those topics are treated seriously in the series.
And of course, when 80% of new ShouJosei series are digital-only, it alienates a chunk of people that would otherwise buy a series had it been released for both digital and print. People like physical copies! Viz had an article that talked about how much people prefer print vs digital! AND THEY STILL TAKE FOREVER RESTOCKING THEIR SHOUJO SERIES. *ahem* My apologies. I've been waiting over a year to get more of Natsume's Book of Friends while watching all of the Shounen restocks.
I'm sure if merchandise were made available worldwide vs only in Japan (or if Crunchyroll even cared the slightest bit about their ShouJosei series and actually advertised them more) that they would get snapped up pretty quickly. Everyone loves posters and nendroids and acrylic stands of their favourite characters. Even action figures if they're made well! It's far from being a "just for men" thing. But I also feel like women are more likely expected to drop such interests due to stereotypical expectations of womanhood. So, you know, getting shamed out of interests plus not having easy access to buying said interests (lack of merch, physical manga & even blu-ray releases) plays a huge part in these so-called findings. I know it makes me frustrated.
A lot of ShouJosei anime end up either having their story condensed into 12 episodes or only get a single season at best-- basically just advertisement for the Manga series. (It's certainly how I find new Manga half the time, out of a basic need to find out what happens).
I feel like if guys watch and read shounen romances, they should give Shoujo a try. Skip and Loafer has the feeling of a Shoujo at this point in watching so I'm not sure why guys are so harshly against it other than it being called a Shoujo.
I've been asking Seven Seas every month in the suggestion forms they send out to license to print The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window and license Ikkoku Nikki 😢 If Tomoko Yamashita's works were actually given some attention with English releases, I'm sure they would be well received! But basically all of her works that have gotten English releases are digital only and the one series that got an anime was given zero attention by Crunchyroll while it was airing. It's such a shame. Both of the titles I mentioned are getting printed in French and other languages, though...
Ah, sorry for going off in your comments. I still feel let down every time I find out a ShouJosei anime I like doesn't have an English print release. It's no wonder I'm having a hard time finding new Manga to get into lately... Anyway ='D thank you for keeping the conversation going with all of your hard work!
Ahhh what a fun video, and a great retrospective over what's happened since the last state of video! Thank you as always for your hard work and the well articulated points laid out here, hopefully it can nudge even more people into trying out shojo media, or even just respecting it as important. The stuff about not marketing towards girls always makes my blood boil, ever since I remembered hearing about it being a "problem" in western cartoons when the viewership becomes largely and unexpectedly women. It's ridiculous! I somehow just didn't even think that might be the case in other markets, but it isn't that far fetched to consider.
Lovely work!
LET'S GOOOOOOO ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!
All my homies hate executives who only care about selling merch
Love what you're saying. I'm actually working on a video discussing the crosspollination between Shoujo and Shonen.
Found out about Ooku the inner chambers through this video, basically discovered a new favorite! Thank you for introducing us to so many amazing series ❤
there is an live action drama which was realeased this year as well. defintley recommend watching it!
Congrats on the past year!! I've really enjoyed your videos from the start - whether they were larger retrospectives looking at a company/the industry as a whole, a deep dive into one series like Mars, or a simple "here are my favs & what I'm reading" vid. As someone who's always loved shojo, you've definitely hit a niche in the AniTube space that wasn't being fully met, and I appreciate it. I've enjoyed just taking some time to write a comment on material I normally wouldn't get to talk about outside the twitter void, or getting to send a video to a friend looking to learn more about or discover new shojo series. Here's to another hopefully great year!
While I'm naturally pessimistic about the future of the anime industry as a whole (too much demand with not enough resources/talent or improvements & incentives for said workers, overall "bubble" fears, etc...) I am weirdly a bit hopeful at least for the future of shojo licensing and adaptations. Partially because trends naturally ebb and flow, but also comments made in interviews by the higher-ups in major companies like CR saying how substantial the growth of female-targeted media is, even when unprompted. The most we can do as fans is support the works and creators we love in the ways we can, and that's what I'll keep doing haha
Also as far as this season goes, I can concur on Yamada at Lvl 999. It's looking to be another feather in director Morio Asaka's shojo/josei cap (seriously, so many Madhouse series were helmed by him from Cardcaptor Sakura + Clear Card, NANA, Chihayafuru, My Love Story, etc...) while we wait for him to hopefully return to more Chihayafuru haha
All the Colleens together!!!
Happy 1 year! Thank you for always offering thoughtful and challenging topics to help myself (and others) grow in our community! You got me to start reading Shojo/Josei and now I have a whole new world of stories to enjoy.
Actually thanks to your video's ive gone on the hunt for some new and good shojo and josei! So thank you and congrats on the year! Its spurred some good conversations with many of my friends and especially the men lmao who had no idea that things like Horimiya weren't shojo XD EDIT: Women wont buy merch huh? Okay, then explain to me why in artist alley its ALWAYS women who come for the fanart and things of characters they cannot get from 'OFFICIAL' sources. >u
I cannot express how much your channel means to me since discovering it. Thank you! Shojo is such a HUGE part of why I fell in love with anime/manga to begin with!
Thank you, Colleen for this video! It reminded me of my thoughts on the "Angelique" series by Yura Kairi and Koei. Although it started off as an otome game, it had mangas and animes that could've been so popular outside of Japan. The franchise is almost 30 years old and even though I'm just starting to get into it, I feel like there's so much wasted potential.
I sense an annual video topic. Thanks for revisiting and the update!!! One year, woooooooo!!!!!
I'll say it again. Women want to read good series. I read a lot shoujo. But I read way more, josei. But the male gaze will always will win. There's a reason sailor moon is still popular and being remade. The amount of merchandise. Make more shoujo and josei. I want more female gaze! I want merch
Your channel has been instrumental in expanding my taste significantly.
Thank You
I've seen many turn their nose up at Miraculous Ladybug, and wonder how it got so popular. A big-budget action/romance animated show inspired by shoujo, Marvel, and Buffy? There's really not much like it, and it had its own wide open lane. Unpopular character arcs and story arcs be damned. Despite Disney owning a stake in it, when it was aired in the U.S., U.S. Disney didn't want it, and it ended up hopping from Nickelodeon (for part of season 1) to Netflix (up until season 3) and then finally to Disney Plus (season 4 on) once it apparently proved itself. I'd love a show better than Ladybug, but people will be more likely to forgive show issues if their interests aren't met.
i would LOVE to see you do a tierlist of common shoujo/josei tropes, like love triangles, childhood friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, etc.
I had forgotten that Natsumes book of friends is shojou. Im rewatching all of it and Aria too rn and i found that ive really missed feel good anime like this because of the sheer amount of shonen around.
It would be amazing if the Shoujo community could organise a 'boycott shounen'. Where we all don't consume/buy any shounen until Shoujo gets better treatment.
No idea how it would work, but it would be cool.
Yeah I was just thinking that too.
This would be awesome
I don't think this would help anything. Boycotts don't always send the message you want. It will just result in more women being pushed out of anime spaces and told to go away and stick to thier "dumb girly" manga. Female voices need to be heard within shonen and more men need to be encouraged to give shoujo a try. I think more people should love media from both demographics.
@@PredictableEnigma I mean women in general aren’t in the anime/manga space. We’re already pushed into a small corner of the room. But if companies are losing money and see that they need to change their ways they will if it means making more money.
If they get out of their heads of seeing toys and instead offer a wide variety of merchandise that would help. I see on Japanese have way more options for merchandise options.
Or maybe we form a petition to have people sign and send to companies.
@@PredictableEnigma It wouldn’t help on a big scale but it would be cool to make it a trend on Twitter or TikTok to gain more traction in general.
Just thank you for continuing what you are doing
Thank you for always making these videos and fighting for all the hoejos out there! Hope to continue to see content from you for a long time!
Omg I’m so glad this video exists. I thought I was going crazy about the sudden lack of “girly” anime that used to be so prevalent when I was younger.
This is why I love Disney, it does so incredibly well despite being a franchise that mainly caters towards a female audience. My now favourite game is Disney Twisted Wonderland, which is an official Disney joseimuke game that is pretty popular in Japan. I saw some men getting angry that all the characters are only pretty ikemen and it was hilarious lmao. I believe a big issue is that men don't like female gaze content and don't want them to be made at all, because they only want things that are catered towards them. We know how misogyny works, and that leads to stigma and hate around women's interests. I also believe that men in general tend to be a lot more close minded than women. Men are afraid to do anything that seems "gay" or "feminine" while the reverse isn't true for women. Which is another reason why so many women consume male gaze media, but the only men that usually like female gaze media are queer. Which also leads to a another significant issue that is intertwined with misogyny in the anime community, which is lgbtq+ phobia.
tkm Colleen, since that first video I've started reading so many great titles that I didn't knew about, and videos like this talking about industry issues are always super interesting and important
i just wanted to say that i really appreciate the work you've done for the shoujo/josei readers. you've echoed a lot of points i've been screaming into the void about for decades and brought up things i didn't even consider.
thank you, colleen. you're doin great.
This video and the evangelion esc clapping scene at the beginning makes this channel feel like the shoujo series that I always come back to because it just feels like a relatable slice of life goodness I need when the upload pings in my notifications or I see it passing by
I haven't read a lot of shoujo myself (still looking around for a series that I would want to stick with all the way to the end) but I do love listening to you talk about them! Thank you so much for your videos and information💖
A SIGN OF AFFECTION ANIME IS CONFIRMED WE WON
Amazing video thanks so much I'll check out these Anime and Manga and give them a watch and read.😁
The "girls don't buy" argument is so dumb ahah, btw i love your channel
I once talked with a guy and talked about liking shoujo anime and he just completely brushed it off as a the typical romance genre. I then gave the example of Natsume Yuujinchou that I knew he liked and he immediately said that it doesn't count?!?? Like make it make sense.
Ofc you think it's only romance if you don't count any other type of shoujo as shoujo. But I just feel like he didn't want to admit he likes some shoujo series too, and was deep in denial.
oh i’ve been orbiting this channel for a year!! was a very serendipitous discovery then and you continue to be an incredible and educative presence on here ~ thank you for everything!
Honestly that video brought me back into shoujo after feeling so burntout with anime and manga
Also started my shoujo collecting addiction lol so thank you Colleen 😂
Always love your recommendations
Great video! Bravo! 🎉I really wish they’d make more media for Shojou and cartoons in general :)
really interesting video, it really is a shame that the entertainment industry as a whole is so male focused. As a male I think it's very easy to don't think about it, I had not even noticed that that I barely had tried any shoujo anime/manga until recently and it's a shame I didn't! There's really a ton of great stuff out there, though sadly it's really hard to convince my male friends to give them a go but I try when the oppurtunity presents itself
Give “Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit” a try! Its main protagonist is a strong woman who has to help a young prince survive after he flees! (Don’t worry, she doesn’t groom him but helps the prince develop into his own person.) it’s a great fantasy adventure anime overall and I highly recommend it!
@@Meimoons I love moribito! Too bad it never got a full adaptation, I really want to get into reading the books it's based of eventually. Did you know they made another anime based on another book from the same author? Erin the beast player, it's a personal favorite of mine! Very slow paced though but IMO an excellent coming of age story
I'm glad you made this channel and kept uploading. I bet it's hard to start as a UA-camr, even as a hobby. Your work is spectacular! I'm happy to see this topic revisited, too. Thanks!❤
"Girls won't buy merch"
Meanwhile, the Tokuen Ranbu fandom ( which is mostly women) going bananas for every new figure that gets announced and the second hand market being incredibly overpriced due to its insane popularity.
I've learned a lot of with you! Thanks
Enbies loves shoujo ! Spitting facts
the NB hoejos loving shoujos 😎
I actually remembered you when the flow of Shoujo started again around early this year! Can't remember your name so in my mind I was like "The UA-camr who posted about lack of Shoujo would be happy!"
I don't necessarily watch Shoujo especially High school ones but I did grow up with Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou, Marmalade Boy and Cheeky Angel. I also noticed the decline as Reverse Harem a sub-genre of Shoujo became quite popular. I do love some reverse Harem though!
Congratulations on a year of creativity! Your so rude to yourself and it's so fun to watch lol. I remember when news of that executive saying that came out and thinking what a garbage take that was. I love watching your videos and will continue to watch as you make more!
When I hear "Women don't buy merchandise" I get so confused. I can only surmise that the implication underneath is that women are not likely to unabashedly fill their walls up with big titty figurines - which, no shit? Or that women are less likely to spend their money on 'hobbies' - which also makes my eyebrow raise because it feels like someone just doesn't know what 'women's hobbies are. If they don't want to buy box collectibles and figurines... couldn't that mean, marketing executive sir, that your merch department is simply unwilling to cater to women's taste in goods and services???
Have you heard of the American housewife sensation, Rae Dunn and the insane collectibe kitchenware scene? Have you seen women and girls flock en masse to fill their bed up with Squishmallows? Have you considered going into literally ANY other hobbyist industry, from clothing to baking?
Do I have to shout from the rooftops that YES, I will purchase a Sailor Moon themed KitchenAid for $100 over retail as women and girls have been doing for Sanrio products for decades... get real. It's not women's fault your merch game is stale 🤷♀ just get good (merch).
Thank you for all the videos and work you've done in the past year Colleen. Your videos have helped me a lot in raising my own awareness and letting my friends know how misrepresented shoujosei is. I enjoy all the content you produce. Shoujosei are heavily underserved. Every time I go to an anime convention, I question why I keep going because I rarely find merch of shoujosei series. Surprisingly I can't even find Horimiya stuff, for an anime that was fairly popular, there isn't much in the artist alleys of conventions besides the mainstream shounen series.
I consumes a lot of shoujosei live actions and I completely agree that live actions are filling in the need where anime is lacking for female targeted media. Most of the slice of life or school series are getting turned into live actions. Josei especially has a higher live action turnout. I have found myself discovering many josei series through these live actions with most of them not having English licenses for the manga. For every 4-5 shoujosei animes we get a season, there is roughly 10-15 live actions either as movies or dramas in a season.
I feel you on that first point hard, as someone who's been going to multiple cons yearly since 2016, I've found it more and more difficult to justify still going when I rarely ever find any merch for shoujo/josei series aside from the usual magical girl stuff like Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Precure, etc. The mainstream shounen series seem to just take over everything to the point where barely anything else has room to breathe, it would be nice to have more merch at cons for shoujosei other than the typical magical girl series, and heck, just more merch at cons for anime other than the mainstream battle shounen, I'm tired of seeing nothing but Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece, and Demon Slayer all the time.
Congratulations ❤❤❤ you deserve all good things!! To another year!!
Thank you so much for walking about this!! ❤
Love your coverage of shoujo media keep it up :))
Conspiracy Colleen is right. I, a non-binary person, have in fact been hoarding all the shojo 😔
All jokes aside though, I've been following your channel since the very beginning, and it's amazing to see how far you've come, improving your craft with each new video. I'm so thankful that you've helped cultivate a place for myself and many other shojosei fans to openly talk about our enjoyment for the series the demographics have. Keep being the awesome person you are, things are just going to keep getting better from here 🥰💖💖💖
Love the video! Yesss! And omg I want merch from skip beat ! Yona! Snow white! Omg 😱 I’ve been waiting on it ! 😭🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼. Also yesss you said nothing but facts 👏🏽✅
Thanks for the video, im glad you did make that original video. It was a suggested video for me and you introduced me to so many shojo manga i would have never known about. I would in a massive slump, mainly reading shonen i wasnt really enjoying all that much. Now i have so many series im ongoing with i cant afford to buy all of them. Id rather be in the later position. Too much to read rather than not enough.
Discovered your channel today and binged through some of your videos. Great content ofc. I also wanna add... You're really pretty 🥺
I've watched this video like.... three times already.
You also made me watch Chihayafuru XD.
As a fan of the olden days sports manga/anime like Attack No. 1! or Attacker You! (I like Volleyball, okay XD) this hits the spot. And made me realize how much I actually miss some Shoujo in my sports anime.
Which brings me to another point. My shelf has 80% shoujo manga (some of them I bought 23 years ago). I had a break from anime/Manga of about 9 years before redescovering anime again. And since it's basically all shounen now. I am consuming more shounen as well. It's like... by design. And this video in particular hammered it into me again that what actually got me into this hobby in the late 90s is Shoujo.
X, Rayearth, Fushigi Yuugi, Basara, Nana, Mint na Bokura, KareKano, Angelic Sanctuary....
We need voices like yours to get this demographic running. If girls (or just non-men in general) get into the hobby now all they're confronted with is battle shounen (fueled by shipping fandom) or shounen/seinen romance. Both in animation and print.
It's like it will fade out even more.
And I feel like I'm part of the problem in my mindless consumption of what's easily available instead of boosting shoujo and demanding more.
So thank you. Thank you so much for making your channel and put a spotlight on a forgotten demographic. And give me a shake up as well.
You didn't mention Raeliana but we are finally getting some of the Korean manhwas adapted into anime as well and I am really happy about it.
LMAO great Neon Genesis Evangelion sketch in the beginning. Either way great video and honestly Madhouse the real ones. My own thoughts (a bit of topic) people really misses out on great series. By not branching out to try new stuff. You can find great gems and new series who you can hold dear to your heart.
Oh my god, I love your videos 🥰
So true men wouldn’t touch a shoujo manga w/ a 10 foot pole but women will consume shounen/seinen 😒
look at trigun stampede, the online fandom is mostly people who arent cis men and i cant think of when ive seen anything like that for a shoujo from men
I'm a 29 year old woman need MOOOORE josei manga DESPERATELY. I read josei when I was 16 years old and could never understand the MC plight, but now that I'm an adult I crave to read stories of women I can totally relate to. MORE JOSEI PLEASE!!!
And also women have made industry's BILLION of dollars so I have no idea what these studios are talking about. If women didn't become fan girls do you really think all these artist would be as big as they are?
Its terrible women are being left out in this industry...
lovely video as always! i know your main topic in this channel is shoujo manga but i would love to hear you talk about otome games too if you play them!
i swear ur two videos on the decline of shoujo made me more aware of how different it can be and even convinced me to try some than the anime industry ever did
it's funny seeing all the other personalities in your head argue or make a point! XD
btw your videos are very good, no complaints on editing/script, keep it up!! Your talk matters for the anime community!
- random guy on youtube who is obsessed with healthy shoujo/seinen romance...
For me, the shoujo anime adaptation scene is still thriving relatively well. It's when shoujo explores subject matter not normally covered in the genre,, they're usually the type to get adapted (eg. My Happy Marriage and Doctor Elise). As long as these series are adequately consistent, they will see relative success with their target audience!
Ironic that one of the notable girl otaku characters in anime is Konata Izumi, aka Legendary Girl A, who buys all the merch for her favourite anime, sometimes more than once. Funny how they can imagine this fictional character but others think women don’t buy merch.
I'm just so happy and glad that you exist and that you are present here with us to stand against these treatments towards us😔
Louder for those in the back: girls creo out of animation because there can’t see themselves reflected in it anymore.”
Honestly, if there was any new shoujo/yosei to buy, I’d buy it. But when I try to look for new shoujo, there’s none. It’s exhausting to only find manga/anime treating women like objects and where the main plot is fights/wars.
My birthdays on Halloween and this warmed my little heat 🖤